Essex Tech Awarded $1.2 Million State Grant For NightHawks Program

DANVERS, MA — Essex Tech will use $1.2 million in state grant funding to expand its NightHawks Adult Education Program.

The program provides training opportunities for the Career Technical Initiative, including advanced manufacturing, automotive technology, auto collision repair, carpentry, construction craft laborer, culinary arts, electro-mechanical assembly, HVAC, plumbing and welding.

The MassHire North Shore Career Center partners with the CTI program to provide job placement opportunities for NightHawks students through employer meet-and-greets, presentations, company tours and job fairs.

"In partnership with the MassHire North Shore Career Center, we have substantially increased our
employer engagement, often resulting in multiple job offers for our NightHawks students," said Bonnie Carr, Director of Workforce Development at Essex Tech.

Essex Tech was also awarded a $242,000 Skills Capital grant. which was used to purchase electrical equipment for its off-campus projects.

"The Baker-Polito Administration has been an extremely strong supporter of technical education and of Essex Tech," Essex Tech Superintendent Heidi Riccio said. "As a result of that support, our students and adult learners have developed skills that lead them to high-paying jobs in high demand industries."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)